


karmic revenge

by zukoscomet



Series: roots and wings [6]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Big Brother Sokka (Avatar), Childbirth, F/M, In-Laws, Marriage Proposal, Steambabies - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:21:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28574433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zukoscomet/pseuds/zukoscomet
Summary: Ever since they were first married, Sokka has always sworn to Katara and Zuko that one day they'll have a son just like him. They don't believe him until it's too late.Or: the moments that lead to Kallik.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: roots and wings [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1934692
Comments: 7
Kudos: 84





	karmic revenge

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this is a little expansion on the idea that I mentioned in another fic in this series ('confetti from the sky') about Sokka being deadass convinced that Katara and Zuko were going to have a kid like him. I'm not too sure what I think of this, so there might be some edits along the way, but I've had it in my drafts for so long I figured I might as well publish it. Also the whole premise wouldn't leave me alone and was distracting me from starting/working on other things, so hopefully I'll be able to get the burners going on the next chapter of TLSY or maybe even the oneshot I have planned for Zuko & Azula. 
> 
> I'm putting this towards the end of the series numerically, since the ending is in between 'confetti from the sky' and 'every time we love, every time we give' but in case anyone is confused, the early parts of the fic are much further back chronologically, right before the events of 'act of infinite optimism'.
> 
> It looks like lockdown restrictions are going to be in place here in the UK for quite some time, so hopefully I'll stay productive with all this time on my hands. Stay safe everyone and enjoy!

Zuko heaved in a breath as he finally crested yet another peak of the glacier he and Sokka were traversing, the unfamiliar polar air burning down his throat and settling on his chest.

Once upon a time, Zuko had thought there could be nothing more terrifying than the trip he’d taken to the Southern Water Tribe with Katara to announce their relationship status to her family. This time, though, unbeknownst to Katara of course, he’d come to ask them for their blessing to propose to her and this was ten times more nerve-wracking. One third of the job was done - Kanna had readily given him the seal of approval on the first night he’d arrived. Cornering Sokka, though, had proven to be a much more difficult task. After ascending to the position of deputy chief, Sokka was near constantly busy even when his sister was visiting, so when he had asked Zuko to join him on a hunt, he’d jumped at the chance gratefully. 

Now that they’d been trudging through the snow for nearly half a day, however, without catching a single thing or Zuko asking what he’d come here to ask, he was less enthusiastic about the whole endeavour.

Zuko stared out at the sun as it made its descent towards the horizon. In a few hours, he and Sokka would have to turn tail if they didn’t want to get stuck on in the unforgiving arctic plains overnight.

It was now or never.

“Listen, Sokka, I’ve been trying to think of a good way to put this to you for like the last ten hours and I can’t so I’m just going to come out and say it.” Zuko swallowed hard as Sokka turned to face him, arms crossed. “I’m not going to ask for your permission, because I know Katara would hate the implication that she’s something that can be given away, but I would like your blessing for me to ask for her hand in marriage.”

The deputy chief considered him for a moment before he nodded briskly. “Sure, go ahead, Sparky. Blessing granted.”

Zuko blinked in shock at Sokka’s back as he wandered off up to the summit of the next mound as if nothing had happened. Confusion was quick to replace the surprise as he caught up to his friend. “You took that a whole lot easier than I-”

“Shh!”

The next thing he knew, Sokka dived to the ground and brought him along for the trip with a sharp tug on the sleeve of his parka. Zuko was entirely unprepared for the fall and the bitter cold of the snow immediately stung his cheeks as he was pulled down head first.

“What in Agni's name was that all-” he seethed as he wiped his face clean of snow, trying hard to stir his chi just enough to heat his body.

Sokka clamped a gloved hand over his mouth and pointed out over the peak in front of them.

With one last glare to make his point, Zuko crawled forward on his stomach to the peak of the snow drift and suddenly the reason for their low profile became apparent. Below them, on the ice shelf, sat a lone whale-walrus. Zuko didn’t have much experience with the Water Tribe’s fauna, but even he could tell this was an exceptionally large specimen - big enough to feed several families three meals a day for a week. The creature’s tail fin was similar in width to the crown and arms of an anchor and its tusks were about the length of a small child from heel to head. If they were down on the ground, he and Sokka would surely be running for their lives but high up above, the whale-walrus was oblivious to their presence. The beast’s proximity to the water’s edge - only the slightest of feints to its left - ensured they would only get one shot at this and with daylight beginning to fade it was unlikely they’d find anything else before they were forced to return.

Sokka rolled his bow from his shoulder but instead of aiming it himself, he forced it - already with a single arrow loaded to the string - into the Fire Lord’s hand.

Zuko tried to pass the weapon back. He’d had some rudimentary archery training as a child, supplemented by a few hunting lessons here and there from Sokka and Hakoda, but he was no expert. “You do it. We don’t have time to track anything else if I get this wrong.”

He shook his head. “Give it a try. Look at the size of it - it’s kinda hard to miss. Plus, if you’re going to ask Dad for his blessing later, it’ll go down ever sweeter with a whale-walrus steak that you killed.”

Zuko still wasn’t sure it was worth the risk but he knew Sokka well enough by now to know that his mind wasn’t going to be changed. Careful to not startle the animal, he pushed himself up from the ground and perched on his heels. With no sign of any awareness from the whale-walrus, Zuko took a deep breath and drew the bowstring back to the corner of his eye.

It was far from a perfect shot but it did the job, the arrow whistling through the air before finding its mark deep in the animal’s throat. Death came quickly.

“Nice work, Zuko.” Sokka clapped his back as he stood up behind him. “That’ll taste awesome over a spit-roast tonight.”

It wasn’t until they’d scrambled down the snow drift, tied ropes to the carcass’s tail and had begun dragging it back towards the tribe that Sokka picked up the prior thread of conversation.

“Why wouldn’t I take it easy? You and Katara have been together for what, like... three years?”

“Four years.” Zuko corrected, pausing to tighten the strings of his hood as the wind picked up speed.

“Four years, even better. Don’t you think if I had a problem with you dating my sister that I’d have _done_ something about it by now? Like maybe when Katara first told us you were her boyfriend? Wouldn’t you have done the same if it were Azula?” Sokka’s face creased up in reconsideration. “Actually, scratch that; if someone were to date Azula they’d have to be ten times scarier than you so you’d be in no position to frighten them off.” Sokka barged his shoulder affectionately when Zuko didn’t respond. “Of course you can have my blessing, jerkbender. You’re good for Katara and she’s good for you, too. Besides, she would hit me over the head with a bat if she found out I’d told you no. She’s been going nuts these past few months waiting for you to ask her. Every time you do anything remotely nice she’s thinking that you’re going to propose.”

Zuko’s brow furrowed but he couldn’t deny he was relieved at the extra reassurance. “She has?”

“Yeah. It’s been nearly a year since Suki and I got married and I’ve been told you half-propositioned her at our reception, so you have been kinda slow.”

Zuko found out just how slow he’d been when he put his scheme into action. 

He’d planned it out so thoroughly. Not wanting to infer she replace her mother’s necklace, he’d fished the Fire Lady’s headpiece out of the vaults to offer her as an engagement token instead - to be replaced with another item of her own choosing later. He’d selected the ideal spot for their night, a restaurant nestled high up in the peaks of the volcano with these incredible water gardens, and booked the whole place out so they could be alone. Everything had been going swimmingly. Katara had loved the Water Tribe menu he’d had the kitchen staff prepare specially for her and she’d happily gone with his suggestion that they should take a walk outside. The weather was perfect, the stars were blazing above in all their glory and Katara was seemingly oblivious to his intentions. Or atleast, that’s what he’d thought when she faced away to look out over the city below and the opportune moment arrived, right up until he’d turned around, plunged onto one knee, lifted up the crescent crown to her and opened his eyes to find Katara doing the exact same thing.

His stomach plummeted. “What are you doing?”

Her eyes widened. “What are _you_ doing?”

The wind of confidence that had pulsed through his veins only a second ago deserted him. “I’m, uh... proposing.”

Katara blinked. “Me too.”

Her hand retreated from her skirt pocket and in the palm she held out to him, there sat a disc. The metal was polished gold and it was attached to a ribbon collar the same shade as his robes were, but engraved into the face of the charm was the Southern Water Tribe’s moon and sea emblem. A betrothal necklace, he realised. A betrothal necklace for _him_.

Of all the wildly unlikely scenarios he’d prepared for, this wasn’t one of them. His brain simply drew a blank as they stared at each other, both still on their knees.

“When we talked about it at Sokka and Suki’s wedding reception,” Katara ventured. “I could tell you were worried about me not understanding what I was signing up to with this - with being the Fire Lady - or that I might feel pressured to say yes because of how much the Council wants you to marry. When you didn’t ask me afterwards, I thought maybe... maybe our conversation meant that you wanted _me_ to ask _you_ , so you’d know for sure that this is what I want _._ ” 

“Oh.” 

In retrospect, that sounded like a great idea. In retrospect, anything sounded better than this awkward log-jam of a situation they had here. Zuko found himself wishing that the ground would simply swallow him up into oblivion and he’d be a part of the volcano wall for eternity, never to be seen or heard from again.

“So, um... how are we going to do this?”

She smiled. “You go first.”

“No, you. Ladies first.”

“ _Zuko_.” She stood with a chuckle and crossed the distance between them. He didn’t know whether he wanted to throw up or burst into tears or kiss her when she gently took his vacant hand into her own. “You go.”

“Okay.” He took a shaky breath in and did his best to force his trembling knee to keep him upright. “I had this whole speech planned out for you but...” He looked up into her lovely blue eyes and, with the thought that this question could have those eyes by his side for every day he had left to live, he summoned every shred of courage he’d ever had and spoke up. “Will you-”

He didn’t get to finish the question before she threw herself at him, his arms closing around her body melded to his own as they tumbled back into the grass.

“Yes. Yes, I will marry you.”

They waste no time. He and Katara end up marrying twice that same year. Zuko has known for a long time that she wanted to marry in her homeland, so the first of their weddings - the one that they come to celebrate their anniversary on - is held in the South, far away from the protests of his Council who, in spite of their relief that the Fire Lord’s risky bachelorhood was over and his childlessness soon to be, complain that it was _‘improper’_ of them to _‘elope’_. For once, Zuko allowed himself not to care and Katara certainly didn’t either. The ceremony was perfect. In the cold of the arctic evening, the tribe gathered around as he and Katara knelt beneath the stars at her father’s feet. The chief bound their hands together with a length of dressing and asked the spirits to bless their union. With the symbolic lighting of their qulliq, they were wed.

The party lasts almost till the morning. Zuko and Katara might not have made it through them all, if it weren’t for the new brother-in-law catching them.

“Where are you two lovebirds sneaking off to? I hope it’s not to have some _‘alone time’_.” Sokka said cheerfully as they ran into him at the door to their igloo. “It’s far too cold to consummate, you know. Breath of fire isn’t good enough to stop poor Zuko from freezing his-”

“ _Sokka_.”

“I’m just thinking of your welfare, Katara. How are you going to have the next baby Fire Lord if Zuko here can’t get it- oww!”

The elder of the siblings flinched back as his younger smacked his shoulder, her face scarlet with embarrassment. Sokka stepped up to Zuko and knocked his hood down, ruffling his hair with his knuckles roughly.

“You know, I always wanted a brother instead of a rotten old sister.” he said as Katara stuck her tongue out at him.

Zuko batted his brother-in-law’s hand away but reached out to clasp his shoulder. “Thank you, Sokka.”

“For what?”

“For giving me your blessing and well... just being you, I guess.”

Sokka reciprocated the gesture with a wide grin. “You are _most_ welcome, my dear sweet brother,” Zuko sighed as Sokka pinched his cheek between his fingers and shook. “-but don’t you worry. You’re going to pay me back for all this at some point in your life.”

Zuko frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I’m pretty sure one day you and Katara are going to have a kid that’s just like me.”

“And that conclusion is based on... what exactly?”

“Intuition and biology, Sparky.” Sokka shrugged nonchalantly. “I think it’s a very fair trade. You get to marry your dearly beloved - my sister - but you coincidentally bring more Sokka into the world because your kids will be one-quarter me.”

The Fire Lord blinked at that. Of course, he'd always known - and positively revelled in the honour of it - that his children would be fifty-percent Katara. He hadn't considered, however, that Katara herself was fifty-percent Sokka. He couldn't say he wanted to think about that any further.

“I think this world already has more than enough Sokka.” Katara muttered under her breath.

“Oh, Katara. There is no such thing as too much Sokka. And on that note, I’ll leave you guys to it. Have a good night.” Before Zuko could even begin to process Sokka’s abrupt prophecy, he was gone, swaggering back towards the bonfire and the celebrations still unfolding around it. “Oh, and congratulations again!” he called over his shoulder as he disappeared into the crowd. 

Zuko glanced at his girlfriend - his _wife_ now, he corrected himself with a thrill - out of the corner of his eye. “Can you promise to not make us a mini Sokka?”

Katara side-eyed him right back, folding her arms across her torso with a knowing smirk. “Can _you_ promise to not make us a mini Azula?”

He had no cause to argue against that. He guessed that meant that their children were also going to be twenty-five percent Azula. He winced. “Fair enough.”

When their son arrived into the world some years later, he had an appearance and character similar to neither Sokka or Azula. Even if he had, by that point, both Zuko and Katara were well aware of just how much they would love their children regardless of their traits. As it happened, Prince Kaito was, for all intents and purposes, a mirror reflection of his father. The only things to set he and Zuko apart were his tawny skin and the big, round shape of his eyes that he had clearly inherited from his mother alone. Sokka’s prediction fell short at the birth of their second child, too, who came very quickly on the heels of their first. Fire Princess Izumi, as they named her, was the sum total of elements in both families - Katara’s hair, complexion and nose; Zuko's irises; Azula’s heart-shaped face, brows and lips; Hakoda’s bold facial features, but still nothing unique to Uncle Sokka to be found. It was only when their third child was born, nine years after the wedding, that Sokka was able to extract a tiny glimmer of hope for the fulfilment of his forecasts.

“This one has my eyes.” he’d said with a pleased smile when he met Princess Bashira for the first time, the little girl only a few hours old.

“Same colour, maybe, but my eyes are also that colour and they’re almond-shaped like Zuko’s.” Katara had yawned dismissively as her brother handed the baby back to her for a feed.

“Nice try, Sokka.” Zuko gave his brother-in-law a conciliatory pat on the shoulder but the newly appointed chief of the Southern Water Tribe didn’t need it - he was unfazed.

“We’re getting there.” was the only thing he said.

His claims were only emboldened further with the birth of their fourth child.

“It’s going to happen, Zuko, I’m telling you.” Sokka had insisted, cradling his newest niece in his arms as they all sat on the decking of the Ember Island beach house together. “You started with Kai and Izumi at the Fire Nation end, then you had Shira whose smack bang in the middle of you both, now you’re building to Water Tribe. You’ve got lovely Lili here who's the spitting image of Katara. Next one is going to be a charming little prince like me.”

The Fire Lord just rolled his eyes. “Dream on, Sokka. I dont think Katara and I are even going to have any more children now. Four is plenty for us.”

The Southern Water Tribe’s chieftain just shook his head knowingly. “You say that now. Just you wait. He’s coming.”

When Katara became pregnant again the following winter - the conception falling in the grey area of not necessarily planned but not an accident either; there wasn’t really a way their isolated but eager tryst after meeting Sokka and Suki’s new baby girl could be defined as an accident - Zuko considered that they might just be tempting fate. The evening that Katara bent an orb of water over the swell of her belly and promptly informed him they were having a boy, a particular surprise after their three successive daughters, Zuko considered it again with a little more concern.

By the time Katara’s labour arrived five months later, however, he’d forgotten all about it. He was barely any less busy as Fire Lord now than he was eighteen years ago at the end of the war, and whatever extra free time had been provided by world peace, his son and daughters were eager to make use of.

In spite of that, when the first thing that Katara said to her newborn son was _“Oh, Sokka is going to be so smug”_ , not even two minutes into the poor kid’s life, that should have tipped him off that something was afoot.

As it was, Zuko was too dumbstruck to do anything beyond stare at his wife in complete awe.

It wasn’t as if Katara had been some sort of catatonic wreck during the deliveries of their other children - quite the opposite in fact. Even at the most testing moments where anybody’s fortitude would likely have wavered, Katara had always had a way of conducting herself through labour that could only be described as dignified. Acting like that when a physician or another trained set of hands was there to help her through the birth was a feat in itself. Zuko certainly had never expected her to stay so self-possessed when she was delivering her own child, with only him in attendance, but that was exactly what she’d done. From the minute the contractions had begun to the minute they’d ended, there was no fuss or drama. She’d simply rode out the exponential contractions, punctuating them with little more than some hushed moans, groans and whimpers, her hand clenched tight in his for the duration.

Zuko hadn’t even grasped just how close she was until she’d casually asked him for a blanket and he’d seen the crest of their baby’s head, straining eagerly against her cupped fingers as it emerged from her.

In a few more pushes, it was done and Katara had picked up her baby as calmly as one might retrieve a pencil they’d dropped.

Even now after a few tens of minutes had passed since their son had drawn his first breath, after he'd lifted mother and baby up from the floor and settled them both in the comfort of their bed instead, he still found himself bound by a spell of wonderment - like he'd witnessed an almighty deity work a miracle far beyond the fathoming of man. He just stood at the edge of the bed and watched over them in silent worship, took in the sight of Katara and their new son - not even yet an hour old - nestled tight to her chest, and suddenly he blurted:

"You're amazing."

Katara looked up at him, the tiny wrinkle of her brow between her eyes the only sign of startle at his words. He had said similar things in similar words at each of the births of their elder children, offering her praise and gratitude in abundance. Sometimes she'd accepted it unconditionally like one would accept a flower or a jewel, as a romantic gesture meant to convey solely the love of the giver. More often she'd accepted it with a reminder he owed her nothing at all, let alone for the creation of their children that she surely adored in part because they were _his_. But this time she said nothing at all. She only smiled warmly. She shared in the feeling that had translated itself into that honest outburst, that sense of amazement - less aimed at what she had done specifically, more that she had such an incredible power to give life.

With that imparted from him and welcomed by her, finally his brain felt at a liberty to return to the customary state of the new father - or atleast, father to a new baby.

"Are you feeling okay? You're not in too much pain? Can I get you anything? Food? Water?" His concerns, his need to be serving some purpose to her, came so fast that his words stumbled into one another. "Are you warm enough?"

Her expression only turned fonder as he set to fussing. "We will be when you get in here with us."

Zuko cast a glance to the empty room before them sceptically. A part of him felt like he should deal with the mess that Kallik had brought with him in his entrance first. _Mess_ probably wasn't even a word that could adequately cover the sight on their bedroom floor. Carnage might perhaps be a more apt descriptive. Childbirth was like that, he'd known before he'd seen it happen first-hand; both his father-in-law and his uncle had done him the courtesy of warning him as much. He still couldn't say that he was exactly _used_ to it - he doubted that was even possible to achieve, unless you dealt with it as a professional attitude like Katara - but after four prior experiences, he could certainly be mostly unbothered. That said, there seemed to him to be more liquid remnants than usual along with the afterbirth, the portion of the furs that had been beneath her so saturated that there were leaks on either side. Some of it was amniotic fluid, but a lot of it was blood. Katara had reassured him during the birth that she was fine - that the white caribou pelts that had acted as the main component of her nest made it look worse than it was. He hadn't had much choice but to take her word for it, but he could see now that that was the truth. Her skin was a good colour, eyes bright, she was perfectly alert and she smiled with unadulterated elation as her focus returned to tending to her newborn. 

Finally, on her fifth and final attempt, she'd welcomed a child into the world just the way she'd always dreamed of. 

She wanted for nothing at all.

He shed the outer layer of his parka, kicked off his boots, and slid beneath the blankets with her. Not long after that, she gently placed their fifthborn onto his chest for the first time. 

"Hey, little guy. Our Kallik." Zuko murmured, his hand coming up to the rest on the baby's back.

All of his elder siblings had initially made a bit of a fuss when Zuko had first held them instead of their mother, but Kallik didn't seem to mind or simply didn't notice the change of hands. He was too busy wrangling with the drowsiness brought on by his first feed. His eyes were practically rolling in his head as Zuko looked down on him with a smile, before he snuggled into his father and hid his face in his shirt. Katara drew inspiration from her son, nudging her nose against Zuko's bicep indicatively. She burrowed into his side when he lifted his arm to allow her close, replacing it around her shoulders protectively.

"So," Katara said as she settled in against him, offering a finger to her baby which he reflexively curled his tiny fist around. "-you're the little demon creature that not only used my uterus like some kind of gymnastic equipment, but also had me vomiting my guts up for ten months straight."

It wasn't an exaggeration by any means. Katara had thrown up more times in the first twelve weeks of carrying Kallik than she had in all of her previous pregnancies put together and it hadn't stopped after the first trimester ended, either. From day one right up until yesterday, she'd spent essentially every morning hung over the toilet bowl and then conducted the rest of day under the constraint of making sure there was somewhere convenient for her to be sick wherever she went. Anything at all could provoke it. A smell, a taste, any sort of sensation that Kallik decided he didn't like would promptly make her ill, to the point they'd had to completely reconfigure her diet to prevent her from losing weight rather than gaining it. Most of the foods that Katara would typically want had had to be excluded and the replacements could be... _unusual_. The whole family resolving to eat only whatever she was eating at dinner times - though he'd had to persuade Izumi and Shira of the merit of the gesture, with a little touch of bribery on top - had eased her unhappiness somewhat.

Now that he was out and the pregnancy was over though, Zuko thought, it'd be nice for them to eat something that wasn't completely overpowered by nausea-suppressant ginger.

As for the _in-utero_ acrobatics, it hadn't been as bad as her experience with Izumi but that really wasn't saying a lot.

Izumi had moved around so much she'd created an entirely different league for herself. The endearing little flutters and flips of the second trimester had been quick to escalate to the more distracting kicks and punches, and _distracting_ it was. Izumi never seemed to stop. At times, it seemed almost frantic, like she really was trying to pound her way out of the womb early, like so many people jested. Even when they thought her to be asleep, she would fidget something chronic - a fact they'd verified after her birth in observing her tendency to toss and turn in dreams. He would never forget the many evenings he'd spent watching the already-tenuous skin of Katara's belly stretch to alarming degrees to accommodate bulges of feet, hands, elbows, knees, or sometimes even the silhouette of a spine when their unborn daughter had lounged her weight against a particular side. Sometimes, in the last couple of weeks before Katara had gone into labour with her, she'd push a limb out so forcefully that Zuko could make out the distinctive shape of toes and fingers beneath the skin.

Kallik hadn't been half so bad comparatively but Katara had still labelled him a squirmer just like his eldest sister.

Zuko loved when they had a particularly active child - he never tired of feeling those tiny little thumps inside her - but he did mostly keep that opinion to himself for reasons of self-preservation. Katara was as affectionate and patient with her unborn babies as she was her born ones, but even her temperament could be tested by a wriggly occupant refusing to settle. The wrath of his wife, let alone his _pregnant_ wife, was never something to bring down on your head if it could be avoided.

Katara, inevitably, held no hard feelings against her baby son. The opposite, in fact. She was practically aglow with love. "You're lucky you're cute."

The baby succumbed to a nap before his mother but he woke up before her, too, stirring at the sound of the tribeswomen who came to dispose of the afterbirth - taken out onto the ice, wrapped in a scrap of cloth and buried beneath rocks as ritual dictated. Zuko took the opportunity to take his first proper look at his son.

The first thing he learned about Kallik was that he was extremely curious, even at this earliest stage. His pupils never lingered in one place for any longer than a few seconds before they were searching for the next thing to survey. They were constantly darting around, taking in everything about his surroundings that he possibly could.

The second thing to draw Zuko's study had been the newborn’s head. All of their children had been born with impressive amounts of hair but Zuko had never seen hair like this on _any_ baby, let alone one of his own offspring. Kallik had inherited the glossy black colour from him for certain, but the texture was totally unlike either of his parents. Wispy spirals covered his skull and it was far curlier than Katara’s had ever been, even when she’d had it cropped to her shoulders and her waves had been compounded. Careful not to pull and provoke a cry, Zuko unwound a whorl around his finger and it immediately bounced back into shape upon release. Assuming that the curl didn't grow out as he aged, their son would have ringlets. 

When his attention finally moved beneath the baby’s hairline, all he could see was Sokka, so much so that Zuko had to wonder if he was hallucinating because _surely_ it should not be so obvious this soon. But he blinked hard once, twice, three times and the little face peering up at him was the same familiar one. 

He had the same coppery skin tone, the bright blue irises, the squared-off facial features, the protuberant ears, and Zuko could have sworn the baby boy had the same mischievous glint in his eye, though he knew Katara would tell him he was nuts if he shared that thought with her - _“He’s a baby, Zuko. He’s like an hour old. Newborns aren’t mischievous.”_

(Later, when their second son turned out to be exactly like his uncle characteristically, too, and easily the most demanding of all their children, Zuko claimed his vindication gladly.)

Oh, Sokka _was_ going to be smug, Zuko thought as he stared down at his son with a sinking sense of defeat, and sure enough, when the uncle in question showed up to meet his new nephew a few hours later, he revelled in it.

“Well, hello there, little Sokka.” he crooned when he scooped up the baby boy from Zuko’s arms. “You have any idea how long I’ve been waiting for you? Thirteen whole years.”

“His name is Kallik, by the way.” Zuko supplied as Sokka rocked the newborn with just a bit too much enthusiasm.

“A Water Tribe name, nice touch. Even if it isn’t Sokka Junior.” The chief winked, sliding the baby into the crook of his elbow, freeing up his other arm to clasp Zuko’s back. “Thank you, Zuko. Thank you for finally gracing the world with more Sokka.”

“Zuko? You’re thanking _Zuko_? Are you _kidding_ me?” Katara was thunderous as she glared at him from the bed. “I just gave birth to him! On my own!”

“Well, you did a fantastic job, too.” Her brother conceded hurriedly as he sat down on the bed beside her, his face taking on a more earnest expression. “Seriously though, congratulations, Katara. Mom would be so proud of you. I know I am.”

Katara softened as he offered her baby back to her along with a kiss planted atop her sweat-matted hair.

“Thanks, Sokka.” she wrapped her arms around him in an embrace before he could pull away again. “I’m really glad that my kids have you for their uncle.”

Sokka chuckled into the crook of her neck, the warmth of his breath tickling her skin. “You’re not going to be saying that once this little one gets a bit older. There’s gonna be so many shenanigans, I swear it.”

Both Zuko and Katara outwardly groan at that prospect, but the look that they share over Sokka’s shoulder says the opposite.

Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad at all.

**Author's Note:**

> Endings are so hard to do, ugh.


End file.
